General Motors Executives To Enroll In MathGirl's Vocabulary Lessons

[Quasimodem]

Embarrassed GM to Rename Car with Risque Overtones
Thu October 23, 2003 11:41 AM ET

MAKUHARI, Japan (Reuters) - General Motors Corp will rename its Buick LaCrosse in Canada because the name for the car is slang for masturbation in Quebec, embarrassed officials with the U.S. automaker said Thursday.

GM officials, who declined to be named, said it had been unaware that LaCrosse was a term for self-gratification among teenagers in French-speaking Quebec.

GM officials in Canada are working on a new name for the car, a sedan that will go on sale next year to replace the Buick Regal.

The mix-up is reminiscent of another GM vehicle with an unfortunate name. In the 1970s, GM exported its Chevrolet Nova to Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries, only to be told that Nova translates into "doesn't go." Despite the name, and contrary to popular folklore, the car sold well.

 

[Jenny _S]

Dear General Motors,

I have a modest suggestion to name your Canadian LaCross. Call it the COITUS. No more of this nasty masturbation crap. Get right down the the real stuff.

Jenny


Also, as I recall, some years ago one of the reasons ENCO Oil changed it's name to EXXON was because Enco in Japanese means "Stalled Car".

 

[MathGirl]

Dear Quaz,
If they think they're gonna get a corporate discount on tuition, they can forget it.
MG

 

[Guest]

 

[Quasimodem]

Dear Quaz,
If they think they're gonna get a corporate discount on tuition, they can forget it.
MG

They'll probably just offer you a company vehicle. One of those "doesn't go" models.

 

[snooper]

British Leyland always translate the names of their models into the language of the country they are selling in. That was until the day they started to sell the Triumph Acclaim in Germany and someone pointed out that Sieg Heil had unfortunate connotations.

 

[Icingsugar]

From a broshure to a Honda model a few years back:

"Honda Fitta is small on the outside, but spacious and comfortable on the inside."

Nothing odd there, right?

Now, consider that "fitta" is the Swedish equivalent of "cunt".

I say no more.

 

[Icingsugar]

And this is kind of amusing too.

 

[Guest]

 

[Quasimodem]

Now that Snippettsville is going along so famously, how about expanding to Germany. Fucking would be the perfect place, with its Old World customs and germanic gemutlikeit.

It could become our version of the European Disneyland.